This application claims the priority of German Patent Application No. 100 32 639.0 filed Jul. 5, 2000, which is incorporated herein by reference.
The invention relates to a compact pulse-current supply for generating high-power pulses. More particularly, the present invention relates to a pulse-current supply for generating high-power pulses having an energy store that is connected to a voltage source, a high-power switch for releasing the stored energy and a downstream connected pulse-shaping device.
Energy-supply systems that supply energy in the power range of a few Megawatts (MW) to Gigawatts (GW) within a pulse duration of a few milliseconds (ms) are referred to as pulse-current supplies. These pulse-current supplies are independent of the quantity of stored energy, and essentially comprise a charging device for charging an energy store, a plurality of plate-type capacitors as energy stores, a high-power switch for releasing the stored energy, and a pulse-shaping device.
DE 195 32 219 A1, corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,563, presents this design in a block diagram. A high-power radio path functions as the pulse-shaping device, thereby receiving a voltage of about 25 KV and a current of up to 100 KA from the pulse-current supply. The structural space required for storing the energy, in particular, makes the pulse-current supply highly complex, voluminous and costly.
It is therefore the object of the invention to provide a pulse-current supply in which the necessary structural space is reduced, so the supply can have a compact design and be mobile.
The above object generally is achieved according to the present invention by a pulse-current supply for generating high-power pulses comprising: an energy store that is connected to a voltage source; a high-power switch connected to the energy store for releasing the stored energy; and a pulse-shaping device connected down stream of the switch; and wherein a high-power capacitor functions as the energy store, and has at least one wound capacitor or a plurality of capacitors that are electrically wired or connected to one another; and a semiconductor switch disposed downstream of the high-power capacitor is used as the high-power switch.
The idea underlying the invention is to use wound capacitors and semiconductor switches instead of conventional plate-type capacitors and high-power radio paths, which reduces the structural space requirement. A coil having a free-wheeling diode shapes the pulse.
A wound capacitor of this type is known from DE 198 14 700 A1. According to the reference, the capacitor has a high energy-storage density and small dimensions.
Light-switched thyristors, as described, for example, in DE 196 50 762 A1, can be used as the semiconductor switches.
In a special embodiment, the wound capacitor comprises wound, metal-coated polypropylene films that are accommodated in a housing, wired to one another and cast. The structure is cast in a synthetic resin, which prevents instability, especially in mobile implementation of the pulse-current supply.
In a preferred embodiment, the coil is configured as a toroid or has a toroidal construction. The light-switched thyristor(s) can be mounted in the central region of the coil, which has no magnetic field, saving additional structural space. It is possible to utilize the interior of the coil because it is known that no magnetic field is present in the central region in toroidal coils, i.e., the field is held in the coil body.
The use of light-fired thyristors can eliminate the complicated actuation electronics.
The mechanical construction of the pulse-current supply is layered so as to effect the electrical contacting, so no cable connections are necessary, and the entire pulse-current supply is mechanically and electrically stable.
The invention is described in detail below via an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawings.